Redemption II (episode)
Picard organizes a blockade against Romulan support for the forces of Duras. (Season Premiere) Summary Kurn's ship, the ''Hegh'ta'', with Worf now aboard as tactical officer, is narrowly escaping destruction by two other Birds of Prey near a sun. Kurn uses a clever technique of engaging warp drive near the star's surface, causing a solar flare which destroys the two pursuers. Meanwhile, Captain Picard meets with several members of admiralty including Fleet Admiral Shanthi to discuss the Klingon civil war. Picard notes that all three engagements occurring in the past two weeks were won by ships loyal to the Duras family. Shanthi reminds Picard that that is irrelevant as far as the Federation is concerned because the Klingon civil war is an internal matter of the Empire. Picard agrees with that, however he points out that if the Duras family is being aided by the Romulan Empire then it is very much a concern of the Federation. Picard points out that the Romulans have tried to destroy the Klingon/Federation alliance for the last twenty years and at the same time the Duras family has been secretly conspiring with them. To Picard it seems strange that the Duras' are able to overpower Gowron's forces at almost every turn. Shanthi speculates that the Duras family may have better leadership and Picard states it's also possible that they're getting help. Picard reminds the admiralty that the Romulans are wiling to take huge risks to gain any advantage they can over the Federation and now, with the future of the Klingon Empire in the balance, can the Federation seriously believe that they will now just stand back and watch? Picard proposes that the Federation send a fleet to the Romulan/Klingon border, engaging in no offensive action, but create a blockade and stop the flow of supplies from the Romulans to the Duras family. Picard further explains that the problem of detecting ships equipped with cloaking devices is solved by La Forge, who has developed the tachyon detection grid, in which several ships create a tachyon field and any cloaked vessel that passes through it would be detected. Shanthi tells Picard that she'll have to clear it with the Federation Council but in the meantime to go ahead and assemble the fleet. The plan is approved easily enough, but requires many vessels to cover the entire Romulan/Klingon border. Starfleet was spread pretty thin over the quadrant, and Picard is only able to round up twenty-three vessels in total. including the [[USS Endeavour (NCC-71805)|USS Endeavour]], the [[USS Akagi|USS Akagi]], the [[USS Tian An Men|USS Tian An Men]], the [[USS Hermes (NCC-10376)|USS Hermes]], the [[USS Hood (Excelsior class)|USS Hood]], the [[USS Excalibur (NCC-26517)|USS Excalibur]], the [[USS Hornet|USS Hornet]], the [[USS Hathaway|USS Hathaway]] and the [[USS Sutherland|USS Sutherland]]. Picard adds that the Tian An Men, the Sutherland and the Hermes may not be completely ready as far as the yard superintendent is concerned but they're going anyway. Picard assigns, Riker and La Forge to the Excalibur as captain and first officer as their crew was reassigned when the ship put in for repairs. Picard tells them that he wants the fleet ready by 0900 hours and La Forge and Riker then depart. Data remains for a moment and asks Picard why he wasn't assigned a command. Picard tells him that he thought he would need Data still on Enterprise. Data comments on how Picard has mentioned a lack of senior officers that are available for this assignment. At first, Data thinks that Picard may not consider it time for an android to command a starship so as he plans on setting out ways to improve himself, Picard interrupts him and tells him that the Sutherland is in need of a captain and he can't think of anyone better for the job. Meanwhile, Worf and Kurn celebrate the war by drinking with a number of Klingons, many of whom support the House of Duras. Worf arrives and Kurn introduces him to Captain Larg who commanded the squadron that tried to destroy them the day before. Larg insults Worf by implying that Worf isn't worthy of wearing a Klingon uniform. Worf is incensed and tries to attack Larg but Kurn restrains him, telling him that the capital city is neutral ground and that Larg's men are all around them, as are Kurn's. Kurn and Larg then both pick up a glass of bloodwine and tell each other to die well, then throw the glasses away and then Larg leaves. Worf asks Kurn if he really is drinking with their enemies. Kurn ask him how many of these warriors are with them and how many with the Duras family. Kurn tells them when they meet in battle they will fight to the death but here in the capital city they are all Klingons, all warriors. Worf starts to give Kurn a status report on the repair of the Hegh'ta, Kurn asks him if only duty is in his heart then tells him that they all have duties and responsibilities but at the same time he reminds Worf that they are all Klingons, all warriors, fighting in a glorious war. Kurn asks Worf to contemplate the fact that they will fight battles soon that others can only dream of and it is time to celebrate, for tomorrow they all may die. Kurn asks Worf to forget the status report and go with him and let them live the night together as if it were their last. Worf agrees and goes into the group of Klingons with Kurn. Over in a corner Lursa and B'Etor notice this and note that Worf is trying to be more like Kurn but that it's not working very well. Elsewhere, the fleet moves into formation and initiates the detection grid. Sela, the Romulan commander who bears a strong resemblance to the late ''Enterprise'' security chief Tasha Yar, appears. As Picard ponders her apparent familial resemblance, Guinan tells him that she is the daughter of Tasha, even though it could not logically be true. Sela soon tells Picard about how the alternate Tasha Yar, sent back to 2344 with the ''Enterprise''-C, was not killed at Narendra III, but was captured by a Romulan, who offered to spare her life if she would become his consort. She agreed, and thus Sela was born. Before long, supporters of the Duras capture Worf. The sisters of Duras attempt to gain his allegiance by tempting him with the promise of B'Etor's matehood. Worf refuses. Sela threatens Picard, telling him he has twenty hours to remove the fleet or risk a Romulan attack. Picard devises a new strategic plan: if Gowron were to launch a full attack on the forces of Duras, the Romulans would have no choice but to cross the line to grant assistance. He tells Gowron of this, and he cooperates. The plan works, and the Romulans cross the line. Unfortunately, they flood the entire area with tachyon emissions, making them undetectable. Picard orders the fleet to fall back and reform the blockade farther back. Data identifies a way to find the ships, and disobeys the order, to the chagrin of the already distrustful crew of the Sutherland. Data is able to target the ships with low-yield photon torpedoes, exposing them. Sela orders the ships back, and the short-supplied forces of Duras fall to Gowron's fleets. Although the sisters of Duras escape prosecution, Toral is captured by Worf and other forces of the House of Mogh. Gowron assumes his post as the Klingon chancellor, restores the honor of the House of Mogh, and grants Kurn a seat on the Klingon High Council. Toral's life is handed to Worf, who chooses to spare it. Worf asks Picard for his position back, and Picard happily grants the request. Memorable Quotes "You are lucky, Kurn, but luck always runs out. Someday I will stand over your broken corpse and drink to the victory of the Duras!" : - Captain Larg "The time for glory is here. It is not a time to worry about stabilizers. It is a time to celebrate, for tomorrow, we all may die!" : - Kurn, to Worf "I understand your concerns. Request denied." : - Data, refusing Christopher Hobson's request for transfer because of Data's being an android. "Silence the child, or send him away!" : - Sela, on Toral Background Information * This episode was the season premiere of the 5th season. * This episode refers to the events from "Yesterday's Enterprise" and "Redemption". * Footage of the Klingon Bird-of-Prey flying towards the Sun is reused from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. * Footage of the [[USS Excalibur (NCC-26517)|USS Excalibur]] along with the Enterprise-D is reused from TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise." *The Duras sisters are not seen again until the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Past Prologue." *Tony Todd makes his next and final appearance as Kurn in the DS9 fourth season episode "Sons of Mogh". *The Deep Space Nine fifth season opener "Apocalypse Rising" reveals that Martok fought on Gowron's side at the Battle of Mempa. *Toral is next seen in the Deep Space Nine fourth season episode "The Sword of Kahless", where he tries to take over the Empire by attempting to steal the Sword of Kahless from Worf, Kor and Jadzia Dax. *Having served as Captain Benjamin Maxwell's tactical officer aboard the USS Rutledge, Chief O'Brien appropriately fills the same role on the Enterprise during Worf's absence. * The Nebula-class starship appears again in this episode, and has been slightly modified, as the Sutherland is noticably different from the Phoenix. This is most notable in the "dish" on the back of model; the Sutherland has a more triangular "dish" than the round dish of the Phoenix. *Ronald D. Moore commented: : A lot of time had passed between the events in Part I and Part II, so we felt there was enough of a time cut there to justify Worf having switched assignments. What really happened was that we didn't even come up with the story for Part II until after hiatus and we didn't have the idea for putting Kurn and Worf on the same ship until then. http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/6952/ron73.txt Links and References Guest Stars *Denise Crosby as Sela *Tony Todd as Kurn *Barbara March as Lursa *Gwynyth Walsh as B'Etor *J.D. Cullum as Toral *Robert O'Reilly as Gowron *Michael G. Hagerty as Larg *Fran Bennett as Shanthi *Nicholas Kepros as Movar *Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien *Timothy Carhart as Christopher Hobson Special Guest Star *Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan Co-Stars *Jordan Lund as Kulge *Stephen James Carver as Hegh'ta Helmsman *Majel Barrett as the computer voice *Clifton Jones as Craig (uncredited) References ''Ahwahnee'', USS; ''Ajax'', USS ; ''Akagi'', USS, ''Aries'', USS; baktag; Beta Lankal; Berellian; ''Charleston'', USS; Chief of Starfleet Operations; cloaking device; Constellation class; D'deridex class; Daystrom Institute Proceedings; ''Endeavour'', USS; ''Excalibur'', USS; Gamma Eridon; ''Goddard'', USS; Great Hall; ''Hathaway'', USS; ''Hegh'ta'', IKS; ''Hermes'', USS; ''Hood'', USS; ''Hornet'', USS; Journal of Starfleet Technology; Journal of Subspace Research; Journal of the Institute for Unauthorized Experiments; Khitomer Massacre; Klingon history; Mempa, Battle of; Mempa sector; Mempa system; ''Merrimack'', USS; Miranda class; Narendra III; Nebula class; Observation lounge; Prime Directive; Right of Vengeance; Romulan; Scientific Tasmanian; Starbase 234; ''Sutherland'', USS; tachyon detection grid; tachyon scan; ''Thomas Paine'', USS; ''Tian An Men'', USS; ''Trieste'', USS; Vor'cha class |next= }} Category:TNG episodes de:Der Kampf um das klingonische Reich, Teil II es:Redemption, Part II nl:Redemption, Deel II